HASTINGS, NE. (jimmiepride.com) – The University of Jamestown softball team broke out of its recent offensive slump Saturday, scoring 31 runs on 38 hits in a sweep of Hastings College.
Jamestown won game one 11-6 then took game two by a final of 20-4 in five innings. UJ, now 29-11 overall and 12-6 in the GPAC, return home to host Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University on Tuesday.
The Jimmies held a 2-0 lead going into the top of the fifth in the opener, then erupted for nine runs in the inning. Kassi Ward (JR/Olympia, Wash.) hit a two-run home run to deep left field, then Sydney Prussia (JR/Detroit Lakes, Minn.) homered to center. Following a Santina Zito (SO/Boise, Idaho) single, Katie Merchant (SO/South Haven, Minn.) smashed a two-run homer to left to make it 7-0. Gracie Fisher (FR/Bemidji, Minn.) also went deep, taking a 3-2 pitch to center for an 8-0 lead. Ward doubled home Morgan Geiszler (JR/Horace, N.D.), who had reached on a fielder’s choice. Leading 9-0, Zito singled in Jenna Remenar (FR/Vancouver, Wash.) and Ward to make it 11-0.
Hastings rallied for six runs in the bottom of the fifth against Katie Merchant and Lucy Sinkkonen (FR/Cloquet, Minn.), all with no out. Kat Miska (JR/Pequot Lakes, Minn.) started in the circle and went the first four innings, then returned to pitch the sixth and seventh innings. She struck out 12 in six shutout innings, allowing five hits and no walks.
Remenar went 3-for-5 and scored three times. Ward was 3-for-4 and Prussia, Zito, Merchant, and Fisher all had two hits.
The bats especially came alive in game two, as UJ pounded out 23 hits in just five innings, and scored 15 of its 20 runs in the final two frames.
Jenna Remenar homered with one out in the first to give the Jimmies an early lead, then a two-run double by Morgan Geiszler brought in Gentrey Turin (FR/Sandy, Ore.) and Lauren Diemert (FR/West Fargo, N.D.) to make it 3-0.
Kassi Ward led off the third with a solo homer, and Santina Zito’s single scored Sydney Prussia, increasing the lead to 5-0. The Broncos came back with a pair of runs in the bottom half to cut the gap to 5-2.
The fourth inning saw Jamestown break the game open, scoring 10 runs on nine hits and three walks. Remenar, Ward, Zito, Gracie Fisher, Geiszler, and Camryn Schwab (FR/Thief River Falls, Minn.) had run-scoring hits, with Geiszler’s pair of doubles plating five.
UJ’s offensive barrage continued in the top of the fifth. Mariah Wick (JR/Jamestown, N.D.) singled home Lorigan Steuben (SO/Yacolt, Wash.), then came around on another double by Geiszler. After Remenar singled, Ward hit her second homer of the game, a three-run shot that made it 20-4.
Merchant retired the Broncos in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via the run rule. She went all five innings, scattering six hits, walking three, and striking out five.
Geiszler, Remenar, and Ward each had four hits and combined to hit 12-for-14 with 10 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBI. Wick was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, giving the Jimmies 9-1-2-3 hitters a 15-for-18 day at the plate. Geiszler’s four doubles are believed to be a single-game record, and her six RBI is third-most in UJ history.
Fisher finished 2-for-3 and joined Zito with a pair of runs batted in.
The 23 hits were a season-high for the Jimmies, and the 20 runs are the most since scoring 22 in a 22-3 win over Bethel (Ind.) in Tucson, Ariz., on March 7, 2019.